Questions families ask us

Yes. All Care Homes is 100% free for families, with no hidden fee and no commitment. Our partner homes fund the service when a resident moves in. You will not spend a single pound with us at any point of the search.

An adviser gets in touch shortly after you send the form, usually the same working day, to confirm what you need. Your personalised list of homes with a place available follows, most often within 24 hours.

A dedicated adviser calls you to understand the situation: the level of care needed, the area, the timing and the budget. They then send a short list of suitable homes with prices and vacancies, and arrange visits with the homes you want to see. They stay available for questions until the move.

Your details are used to prepare your list and are shared only with the homes you choose to contact. They are processed under UK GDPR. You can ask us to correct or delete them at any time by writing to the address in our privacy policy.

A care home (residential care) provides accommodation, meals and help with daily living: washing, dressing, medication, company. A nursing home does the same with registered nurses on site around the clock, for people with medical needs that require nursing care. If you are not sure which one is right, tell us in the form and your adviser will help you decide.

Every care home and nursing home in England is registered and inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which rates them Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate. We only work with homes we have selected for their standards, and your adviser can point you to the latest inspection report for each home on your list.

Three routes exist: self-funding, local authority funding after a financial assessment, and NHS Continuing Healthcare for people whose needs are primarily health-related. Many families combine them. Your adviser will explain which one applies to your situation and what to ask the council or the NHS.

Yes. Tell us in the form that you need a place in less than a month. Your adviser concentrates the search on homes with a room available right now and can arrange a visit within days.

It may, after two free assessments: a needs assessment to check what care is needed, then a financial assessment (means test) of savings, income and property. In England the council generally helps only when savings are below the upper capital limit, and the person may still pay a contribution. When the council pays, it must offer at least one affordable care home.

Not always. The home is not counted for a short stay, or while a partner or certain close relatives still live in it. When it is counted and other savings are below the upper capital limit, the council leaves it out for a period at the start of a permanent stay, and a deferred payment agreement can let the council pay the fees and be repaid later, when the home is sold. Renting the home out is another way. The NHS advises not to sell the home or end a tenancy before the council has decided.

Free care arranged and funded by the NHS for adults with long-term complex health needs, at home or in a care home. Eligibility depends on the assessed needs, not on a diagnosis: a checklist usually decides whether a full assessment by a team of health and care professionals follows. Someone who does not qualify but needs care from a registered nurse in a nursing home may get NHS-funded nursing care, a flat weekly rate the NHS pays towards the nursing part of the fees.

It depends on what the person and the carer need: a short stay in a care home can, for example, let the carer go on holiday, and the needs assessment says which type of respite suits best. Some care homes take advance bookings, which helps, as respite places can be hard to find at short notice. After a hospital stay, free short-term care to support recovery lasts as long as it is needed, for a limited period.

The council may pay towards it once it has assessed the person as needing it: the carer has a carer's assessment, the person cared for a needs assessment, then a financial assessment works out what the council pays. For a short stay, the value of the person's home is not counted. Otherwise the person pays for it, from income, savings or benefits such as Attendance Allowance, and some charities give grants for respite.

A short stay can be a way to get to know a home: the NHS website lists a temporary stay among the ways to research a care home. A permanent move is a separate decision. A needs assessment can show whether a care home is the best choice, the home needs a place available, and the financial assessment changes: for a long-term stay, the value of the person's home is counted unless a partner or certain close relatives still live in it.

A care home or nursing home that looks after people living with dementia. Both types should have staff trained in dementia care. A residential care home gives personal care, such as help with washing, dressing and medicines; a nursing home adds care from qualified nurses day and night. Ask each home how it cares for people with dementia, for example whether all staff are trained and whether it runs dementia-friendly activities.

Not necessarily. Both residential care homes and nursing homes should have staff trained in dementia care. A nursing home also has qualified nurses on duty day and night, for people who need nursing care, for example with a complex medical condition. The needs assessment from social services helps decide which one fits, and needs can change as the symptoms get worse over time.

Start with the home's latest inspection report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which regulates all care homes in England. Then visit: look around, talk to the manager, staff and residents, and ask whether all staff are trained in dementia care, whether an activity co-ordinator runs dementia-friendly activities and whether relatives' meetings take place. Residents who seem happy and responsive, and are treated with dignity and respect, are a good sign.